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Does Erectile Dysfunction Indicate Heart Disease?

Professor Garry Jennings, director of the Heart Centre at the Alfred Hospital, has just returned from the congress. He said it had long been known that erectile dysfunction and heart disease can be triggered by common factors, including increasing age and diabetes. “But it hasn’t been looked at in that way (as an early indicator of heart disease) but it is not unreasonable to suggest we do so,” Professor Jennings said. The heart disease found in the men was treatable and in many cases the men’s erectile dysfunction disappeared when they quit smoking or reduced their cholesterol levels.

While none of the 50 men had symptoms of heart disease, 40 had at least one risk factor including smoking, elevated cholesterol or a family history of the disease. Dr. Pritzker said he did not want to suggest that heart disease was behind every case of impotence, but 30 to 50 percent of cases of erectile dysfunction were probably the result of blood-vessel disease.

Overweight men are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction than those of a healthy weight, a United States survey has found. And the news for Australians gets worse. According to a national study, half of all patients who visit their doctor are fat, one-third drink too much and a quarter smoke. Men with waistlines of more than 105 centimeters were twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction as men with waistlines of 81 centimeters, the US survey found. That has implications for marriages and relationships, says the Gutbuster program’s scientific director Garry Egger. Dr Egger said men who were overweight were more likely to experience self-esteem problems and sleep apnea. “If they don’t feel attractive they are less likely to initiate sex, and in some cases they could be suffering fatigue as a result of sleep apnea, which contributes to a lack of sex drive. So it creates a vicious cycle,” he said.

Some men ignore the extra weight and think if they just could make their penis bigger all would be well. Some even go so far as to have penis surgery. A less extreme form of penis enlargement involves a device called an extender. You wear it on your penis and it gently stretches it over a long period of time. One such device is called ProExtender. It’s one of the most popular male enhancement products you can buy today. These devices really do work. But the main problem is that it takes a long period of time. So you have to wear the ProExtender device for literally months. All that to just gain an inch or so, which could be worth it for some men. Frankly, it seems a lot easier to just try and lose a few pounds. Losing weight actually makes the penis look larger than it does when there’s a lot of extra fat.